Shell for molding concrete piles.



f' .1. E@ C E. D. WATT.

SHELL .FOR MOLDING GGNCRETE PILES. APPLIOATION FILED 001212. 1909.

Si' :21R

Patented May 2, 1911 Inventor:

` To all whom it may concern:

,UNITED Vs'rATns PATENT oFFioE,

E111-IUD. wrvr'r, or La GRANGE, ILLINOIS; sIGNoR To RAYMOND concurs PILE comm?, or NEW Yonx, N.-Y. a conroaATIoN or NEW JERSEY.

' SHELL KOLPING CONCRETE PILES.

spenuemh of Letters raient. Patented May 2, 1911 Application Med October 12, 1909. Serial No. 522,302. l i

Be it known that I, ELIHUD. VVa'rr, a citizen of the United States of Americznand a resident of the town of La Grange, State of Illinoia'have invented certain new and usefullmrovements' in Shellsfor Molding Concrete iles, the principles of which are set forth in the following, specification andv accompanying' drawing, which, ldisclose the form of the invention which I IiOw consider to be .the best of the. various forms in which the1 principles gabe-invention beeinbo iedjf.

This invention/iv lates to improvement-s in;

Raymond, lNos. 589,026 and 806,838, 'whether- -or not the shell bel left in the ground as a specified patent is withdrawn, or' in some permanentpart of the pile,and particularly when the shell is drivenor sunk intothe, groimd, and remains there prior to being lled with concrete, as, lfor examjle, and especially, when" the driving core off e iirst cases, when the outer pipe of the last-n1enconstructed or arranged to withstand the` n l f a vcompanying drawings, of Whichtioned patent is withdrawn prior to filling the inner she-ll with conc-rete. In brief, the

invention is applicable to all 'cases of molding a concrete pile situ ywhere a shell 'is used vas. a mold for the concrete, Whether such mold-shell be temporary for the urpose of molding, or-:permanentfor'use 0th. as a mold and a permanent part of the concrete pile installation' .The object of the invention is a pile-shell strainsto which it is subjected under the above-specified unfilled, earth-surrounded condition, all within4 the limits iffpracticaleconomy; and theinvention consists of such a shell constructed and arranged for such' object, and `in lSubstance :as illustrated f by the disclosures herein ofexemplitication ein-- 'bodiments such as those shown in the Figure 1 is a vertical section showing a shell on the c` --iready for dri'vlng, F1g. 2 a vertical ,sectiongoftheshell grounded .and ready to t'receive thetconcretepnnd showing one of the various modifica'tionsdoftlie5in` vention" 3, and 4 areA lans of a reinforcing 4member showing steps in the process of its manufacture. Y

tion`, such as the three plates C .'(twobnly beingper-missibly` shown in the section 1),!tobemoved in and out respectively by a suitable wedged interior spindle' not 777,351; or the core need not beemployed when the shell is equivalently grounded, as, for example,l in-the disclosure of the abovespecitied Patent No. 806,838.

TheA shell S, and the 'core Whennsed and fitting. inside thesheil, are preferably but not necessarily tapeng, or truste-conical, as shown, in order not only to facilitate driving but also `to increase the load-carrying capacity of the ultimate concrete pile. The shell or shell-sections may be `withdrawn after the soft concrete has been placed in it, and preferably before the' concrete sets; but the present practice is to leave it in the ground to serve as a permanent pile-cover lng, and,y in an upper lWater stratum, as a coifersdam.- Generally, a rounded point 4or footing F is provided to close the bottom hollow and ofv th' 1 material like the main shell-part, as Shop n, and in such case, and generally, constitutinga permanent part of the concrete pile The shell is thin, being made of thin sheetmetal such as steel, or of paper, tlie material Ain any case being liable to collapse by external earth pressure when Igrounded, on account of the thinness of' the shell-\vall,

respect of the small mass ofexpensve' material, particularly when, as in the present practice, ythe shell is-of steel and constitutes a Vpermanent part of the pile and 'is therefore lost to use as a mold for other piles. The function of the/shell is merely to maindriiing core, during the interval between noton y A'as the result' of theactfofdriving, but is also liable toioe increaseglfvery Vgreatly "fbythe adjacent driving of other piles before the concrete sets in a pileiirst molded.

'The core may be of any suitable -construcl shown; or as, the expansible and collapsible y core ofllnited States Let-ters. Patent No.

of.4 the shell, as shown, this being preferably adopted vfrom considerations of economy in A ltain the shape of the holeformed bythe the time the coreis withdrawnjand thehole filled withv concrete and until the concrete sets to a degree sutiicienttoirvithstand `the earth, re'ss'ure.v This eairtlipressureoncurs 1. cient strength to oppose the pressure of ex- Since the shell tits tightly over 4the core during driving, it is then suhiected to no serious strains, and it need have only suffiiernal earth tending to collapse it.

'l'lie shell usually consists of sections, preferably horizontal as shown, in latcnt No. 700,707. lf, desired, the .shell may cdnsist of a single part, or if sectional, the sections may he vertical, with vertical overlaps, as for the purpose ot nriore ready i'einoval, secA tion by section, after the iiitroduction and before the setting ol the concrete, in`cases where the shell is not to he a permanent part of the pile. The shell, or a shell section,may be formed preliminarily froin sheet material in any desired manner, such as by the winding machine of United States Letters Patent No. 848,394, or of 8,851. The overlapping' vertical edges may he welded or riveted together. After the shell or its sections are formed from thesheet material, and completed in accordance with the invention, and ready for use, the core, in expanded condition, is elevated by the piledriver, and the shell or shell-sections are drawn up over the expanded core as shown in -Fig. l. Each section may overlap the section nextl above it, as shown, or an upper section may overlap a lower section.

The thin sheet-metal shell so far described vis practicable only'for cases where the pressure of external earth is not sufficient to collapse the thin material. The material and strength ofthe shell have their nearest analogue in a common stove-pipe, although the shell is somewhat stronger than that. Obviously', it is necessary to prevent .such collapse, because thatv would prevent the molding of a pile of the Adesigned dimensions and strength. It has been the practice, therefore, to do the obvious thing in cases of great earth-pressure, e., to use a heavier shell, which means that thin material was entirely discarded, and a thick heavy frustof cone used in its place. Notwithstanding that arious attempts have been made, as a result of the great expense of such heavy shells, to produce a cheaper shell of equal or sutlicient strength. the object seemed iini'iossible of accomplishment owing to the dilticulties encountered under the peculiar conditions involved, not only in construction, hut in the uselof the shell, driven into the4 earth, as a mold for concrete piles. y

In accordance with the prefei'red practice in pursuance ofthis invention, each tliiii shell, or shellsection,l is provided, preferably on its interior, with reinforcing means,y which, like the shell, is of quite smal mass. and which is 4non-integral with thc shell z'fc., docs not comprise parts forii'icd b v an)l special configuration of thil shell itself; and such non-integral reinforcing means is so constructed, and said means and the thin shell are so comhii'ied, as not only to prevent the collapsing oli' the shell under inward pressure of external earth, hut to cause a material reduction in cost as compared with the heavy shells heretofore necessary to he used for like conditions.

l have found that it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the shell throughout its length, hat that the material of the ordinary extremely thin sheet-steel shell is sutliciently strong t'o permit use in cases of maximum earth-pressure, provided only that the ai' :a of such material, otherwise unsupported, is not too great. Considerable ditliculty has attended the practical solution of this problem, on account of the peculiar conditions involved in the use of the shell for its purpose of molding concrete piles, including not only the earth-conditions outside the shell, but also the varying conditions inside the shell, such as the expansion, driving, collapsing and withdrawal of the driving core; which are hereinafter referred to in greater detail in connection with the construction and arrangement of the reinforcingmeans. The reinforcing means constituting the practical solution of the problem comprises simply a plurality of metallic rings l, T"igs l and 4, proportionedas'to diameter in conformity with the diameter of the shell so as to i'it against its surface and be permissibly located at suitable distances apart, and inserted in t-he shell prior to the drawing up of the shell over the expanded Vriore C; so that, prior to the commencement nf the driving operation, the combination has the relations shown iii Fig. l, wherein the rings R are located between the core and t-he shell. These rings, when properly constructed and combined as more particularly described hereinafter, have beenk demonstrated to act to prevent collapse by external earth pressure as efficiently as a uniformly thick, heavy and more expansive shell, notwithstanding tliateven when 'they are applied to a thin shell, they are separated from each other by intervals of considerable length. That is'to say, the construction and combination Vis such that. the rings serve to reinforce not only the particular points of 1the .shell at which'they may he respectively located, but they cooperate with the thin sIiell-inaterial extending across the interval .between rings, in such way as to also reinforce all other points of the shell'. 'lhe distance apart of the reinforcing rods or rings is determined by the arca of thin sheet-metal between them which it is practicable, under given conditions. to leave unsupported,

'l`lie.rings lt are preferably of metal such as steel or iron, or, it' des red, of any other inaterial suitablcfor reinforcement. They may have a circular section as in Fig. l. or the section may he oblong' as in lfig. il for a special purpose.' Then of circular section,

ies

and in case of average high-pressure earth conditions and of combinatlon with the standard thin shell,'they may be a quarter inch in diameter and located along-the Wall of the shell about three inches apart. A determination of the various lengths of the re spective rings having been made for a given case, as for a'jtapered shell of given pro portions and a given requirement as to distance apart, the rods are cut to such length,

, and each bent, as around a former, to as nearly annular form as possible,` as shown 1n curing the rings tothe shell as by riveting,

. welding, etc,

Fig. Thereupon the abutting free ends are welded together as indicated at WV, Fig. 4, preferably in pursuance of the art of electric welding. When properly done, this pro# duces a substantially perfect annulus adaptl ed to fit ti htly the wall of the shell and be readily an firmly adjusted to its particular intended place of seating prior to the drawing up of the shell-over the driving core.

This result of eiiicient and simple location is important because it saves the cost of se- Furthermore, owing to the joining together of the ends of the ring, the

' ring is self-reinforcing, and each ring is a complete selfconta1ned remforclng means acting by itself independently of any other ring. This arrangement of reinforcing means consisting of the distribution of sepa- .rate complete units is also important, in connecton with the permissible lack of means securing the rings to the shell, in thatit simplifies the operation of collapsing and withdrawing the core after grounding has been effected. lVhen the reinforcing means consists of a single structure not divided into separate units, it is liable to be pulled up by the core, at least to an extent suiiicient to permit a serious collapse of the shell. But when the rings R, as separate units, are employed, thedanger of such an occurrence is greatly reduced, even when the rings are not positively' secured to the shell.

If desired, the rings R, or any other form of reinforcing rod or'wire, etc., may be. riveted or 'welded to the shell; and the reinforcing means may consist ofseparate units -.other than rings, or may consist of a single Fig. l, is yadapted for use in the practice of leaving thel shell in the groundl as a permanent part of the pile.

In Fig.2, the rings R1 an4 oblong in see tion, in order to reduce resistance to earth during driving, such reduction being desir able in case of the. exterior location of the rings shown. Thisexterior location of rings is advantageous in that 'the rings are independent of the operations of the core inside the shell. Although located on the outside of the shell, they act very efficiently as rel` inforcements, as they can be fitted tight around the shell, and the downward driving operation of the tapered shell insures their maintenance in that most efficient reinforc ing condition, so that when the core is with .,drawn, therings are certain to be in their best positions, ready to assume their duty of resisting collapsing strains the instant the core is withdrawn. The outside location of the rings is also particularly adapted for the practice of removin the shell after it has served its primary unction as a mold for the concrete; because the outside rings have no engagement with concrete inside the shell. The butt-Welding of the rings R, R1 is de sirable more particularly in the case Where the. reinforcing means is not applied until,

after the shell itself has been completed.

As an alternative method of producing `the reinforcement of this invention, the reinfo'cing means, such as rods suitably disM posed, is applied to the thin metal sheet prior to'the rolling or Winding thereof to form the shell. In View of all the above, it will be evident that rods may bewe1ded or riveted to the sheet, so that when the sheet and rods are Wound, the rods maytake an annular form and their free ends may abut, to operate as in the case of butt-Weldedrin s inserted in a. completed shell. This examp e is referred to as an indication of the many various ways in which the invention may be produced, as well as the various different forms it may assume. e

The construction,comprising the pluraiity of rings shown, constitutes not only a reinforcing means which amply resists strains of external earth tending to, collapse the thin sliell, but isa structure which is much more economically produced than the structures heretofore used for similar conditions, such as the heavy-gage shells used in cases where the external earth pressure, was so great as to collapse the thin shells ordinarily used as where the earth pressure is very slight.

In this invention, while the cost of the plurality of rin s is considerable, yet that cost, with the a dition ot' the cost or' properly combining them with the shells, is much less than'that ofthe thick, heavy-shells heretofore used. 4

Thel data `and dimensions specified herein will of course be varied for different condiv tions, and the rings .may be of various materials and forms, and need not be 'coinpletely annular, and need not be separate rings as distinguished from a helical or spiral-helical rod; and the rods or wires R may have any desired location or direction of location on the surface of the shell. Also the construction of the lshell itself may be modifi-ed as desired. .\ll such and similar matters are lett to the designer 'for special conditions. Th(- word rod is used generically in the claims to include all forms of reinforcement within the invention.

It will he clear from the above that when the core C, collapsed'. is Withdrawn up from within thegroundcd shell, but before the concrete is placed in thil shell, the structure ot this invention provides ample resistance to collapsing strains, and that said structure is one combining the advantages of simplicity and economy with that of elliciency. The reintorcing n cans insures against collapse due to earth pressure caused not only by the act ot driving he shell itself, but by the driving ot adjacent shells at any time before/the concrete has set in a shell lirst `oollapsibly thin sheet-metal for molding concrete piles in place in the ground, of a plurality of butt-welded metal rings arranged along the interior Wall of the sheetmetal Aof the shell and operating when the" shell is grounded, to oppose pressure of eX- ternal earth tending tocollapse the thin sheet-metal ot the shell.

2. The combination with a pile-shell of.

collapsibly thin sheet metal for molding concrete piles in place in the ground, vof a plurality of bent metal rods arranged along the interior Wall `of the sheet-metal of theishell and operating when the shell is grounded, to oppose pressure of external earth tending -to collapsethe thin sheet-metal of the shell.

3. T he combination with a pile-shell of collapsibly thin sheet-metal for molding concrete piles in place in the ground, of a plurality of bent metal rods arranged along the sheet metal Wall of the shell and operating when the shell is grounded, to oppose pressure of surrounding earth tending to collapse the thin sheet metal of the shell.

4. The combination with a pile-shell of collapsibly thin sheet-metal for molding ooncrete piles in place in the ground, of a metal rod arranged along the sheet-metal Wall of the shell and operating when the shell is grounded, to oppose the pressure of .sur-

rounding earth tending to collapse the thin sheet-metal of the shell'.

The comhimxtion witha pile-shell of collapsibly thin sheet-metal `tor moldingconcrete piles in place in the ground, of a 'plurallty of butt-welded metal rings ar- 7. The combination with a pile-shell of collapsibly thin sheet metal for molding' concrete piles in place in the `ground, of a metal rod secured to the shell yand operating, when the shell is grounded, to resist pressure of surrounding earth. tending to collapse the thin sheet-metal of the shell.l

8. The combination with a tapered pileshell of collapsible thin sheet-metal for molding concrete piles in placer in the ground, of' a plurality of metal rings having diameters graded to the taper zot the shell and arranged along the sheetfmetal wall thereof, and operating, when the shell is grounded, to resist pressure of surrounding earth tending to collapse the thin sheetmetal ofthe shell.

t). The combination with a tapered pileshell of collapsibly thin sheet-metal for .molding concrete piles in place in `the ground, ot a plurality of metal rings having diameters respectively graded to theA taper of the shell an l arranged along the interior -ion when the shell is grounded, to oppose pressure of external earth tending to collapse the thin sheet-metal of the shell..

10. rl`he combinationwith a pile-shell ot collapsibly thin material for molding concrete piles in place in the ground, of a plurality of rings arranged along the wall 4ot the shell and operating, when the shell is grounded, to oppose pressure of surrounding earth tending to collapse the thin material of the shell.

11. The combination with a pile-shell of collapsibly thin material For molding conerete'piles in place in the ground, of a rod secured to the interior Wall ot the Shell and resisting pressure ot'externall earth tending tocollaps'e the thin material of the shell;

12. The combination with al pile-shell of collapsibly thin material for timing connal earth tendin crete piles in place in thejground, oa rod 'tending to collapse ih@ thin mmerial'ofche ra-li'tyo.v rings supported against the intecollapsibly thin material for moldingleontending to collapse the thm shell.,

rounding earth bendingto collapse -the jaliin material of the shell.;

13. The combination with a pile-shell of collapsibly thin Amaterial for molding consupportcd against the `Wall of the shell and operating, when the shell -is grounded, to resist inward pressure of surrounding earth 14. The combination with paleshell of .collapsibly thinmaterial for molding com lcretepi'lesin place in the ground, oi a plu- 16. The` combinanoapvih pilesneu ,tending .I shell.`

in fg concrete xpilesjin place in 5' collapsilily thin :materiall for molding con- `.crete piles-in'plac'ein the ground, o reinforcin rings supported by the shell -and'ar'-- I range to resistinwzmd pressure of earth surrounding the 'shell when grounded and 'l toco'llapse the thin' material of the 517. The ombination -witilra pile-shell of Yeollapsibly thin material for molding con- 'crete piles in place 'in the ground, ofrein 'orcin rings secured-to the shell and arranger? to resist inward pressureofearth surrounding the shell when grounded and tending to ollapse' the thin material of the shell. I 'i -'18. The combination with a' 4'pilef shell of c'ollapsibly thin material for moldthe ground, ofreinforcing rin supported by the -shell within the taper erati'ng, whenlthe gortionthereof and-0p ellis-grounded to repressure' of external earth to' collapse the thin fof the*` shell.` 

